Victory Avenue works; Florida Derby still a possibility
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Victory Avenue, who was scratched the morning of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth after developing a minor illness, was back on the work tab here Wednesday with his connections not ruling out the possibility the lightly raced 3-year-old could make his next start in the Grade 1 Florida Derby two weeks from Saturday.
With exercise rider Elmer Nunez aboard, Victory Avenue breezed five furlongs in 1:00.31, completing his final quarter in 23.80 without urging before galloping out strongly, as usual, into and around the clubhouse turn. He completed six furlongs in 1:13.53 before easing up after a mile in 1:41.84.
Victory Avenue has made just one start, finishing second as the 3-2 favorite behind Speak Easy while registering a 97 Beyer going seven furlongs on Jan. 26. Speak Easy was also a late scratch from the Fountain of Youth after running off and injuring himself during the post parade just minutes before post time.
“We missed three days of training while we waited for the antibiotics to do their thing and his blood work to return to normal after scratching from the Fountain of Youth,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father, trainer Gustavo Delgado, a couple of hours after the work. “Since then, so far so good. This was exactly what we wanted this morning, to see a good mile from him.”
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The younger Delgado said no plans have been made for Victory Avenue’s next start, although he conceded the Florida Derby is definitely an option. The Delgado’s used Mage’s second-place finish behind Forte in the 2023 Florida Derby as a stepping-stone to his victory five weeks later in the Kentucky Derby.
“The plan is to breeze him again next week, see how he’s doing, assess the potential field for the Florida Derby, and decide from there,” Delgado advised. “It’s a very fine line. We know it’s a big jump but we also know he’s very talented. Right now it’s just a matter of whether we feel he’s matured enough mentally to compete in that type of race at this time. For the moment, we’re taking things one day at a time.”
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